ACLU files complaint against Whole Foods

By Staff Writer

Austin, Texas – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico is filing a complaint with the New Mexico Human Rights Bureau against Whole Foods Market on behalf of two Spanish-speaking employees.

The employees allege that in June 2013 a Whole Foods store in Albuquerque suspended them for a day for complaining about a company policy they say prevented them from speaking Spanish on the job. Both employees said they are still prevented from speaking Spanish.

Whole Foods has not formally addressed the complaint yet, but a spokesperson told the Associated Press the company has changed its rules about speaking Spanish on the job, is educating all employees and managers across the company about the new rules and has a zero tolerance policy for discrimination.